More ticks means a bigger risk of contracting Lyme disease

By Tyson Leonard

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A rise in ticks across the country means a rise in the risk of contracting Lyme disease in areas like Prince Edward County.

Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Reserve, southeast of Picton, is one of seven endemic areas in Ontario. These areas are known to have large amounts of ticks with Lyme disease.

Last year there were four reported cases of Lyme disease in humans in the Prince Edward and Hastings area. There have been no recorded cases this year.

Warmer weather has caused tick populations to rise.

“The climate is becoming more comfortable for them as the temperature warms up,” said Dave Dodgson, manager of environmental health at the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit.

The Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit submitted 71 ticks for identification last year, six of them tested positive for Lyme disease.

In Ontario, Lyme disease is contracted through blacklegged ticks who have picked-up the disease from animals and passed it on to a person through a bite.

“They hang around in the low herbage and bushes waiting for an animal to go past, or human for the matter, and will latch on,” said Dr. Nick Ogden, a research scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada.

It is possible to contract Lyme disease from any blacklegged ticks, but it is much more likely to get it near an endemic area.

“The ticks occur in woodland and around the edges of woodland habitats,” said Ogden.

Ogden said that many wild animals the ticks feed off of are carrying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in humans.

“They only bite us by mistake, the main hosts they live on and feed from are wild animals,” said Ogden.

The ticks that pass the disease along are about five millimeters in length but after feeding can get as big as a grape.

One of the first signs of Lyme disease is a circular rash at the site of the bite. People affected usually get flu-like symptoms at first.

“If its not treated it can go on to the later Lyme disease symptoms which are predominantly arthritis and neurological symptoms,” said Ogden.

Ogden said each stage of the disease is treatable with antibiotics.

Occasionally people who have suffered Lyme disease will still have symptoms after treatment but everyone does eventually fully recover, said Ogden.

Because ticks are found in forested areas the best way to avoid them is to avoid those areas. If you are going out into a forested area there are a couple ways to prevent letting ticks latch on to you.

“Dress appropriately, wear DEET, and when you come back check yourself thoroughly for ticks,” said Ogden.

“If you remove a tick within 24 to 36 hours you have a good chance, in most cases, if the tick is infected, of preventing transmission.”

The Public Health Agency of Canada is fighting the rise of Lyme disease in Canada. Tactics being used include surveillance of both animal and human cases of Lyme disease, and providing information on how people can prevent tick bites.

“(The Public Health Agency of Canada is) facilitating surveillance across the country so we can identify where Lyme disease risk is occurring and emerging,” said Ogden.

As of 2009 doctors are also required to report all cases of Lyme disease.